1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a buffer apparatus and a thin film deposition system, in particular, to a buffer apparatus and a thin film deposition system capable of reducing bubbles generated in a liquid material.
2. Description of Related Art
In the current semiconductor process, the thin film deposition technique is an indispensable and widely applied technique. Generally speaking, before performing a thin film deposition process, a liquid material at a remote end is first transported into a buffer apparatus (for example, an ampoule) by a carrier gas. Then, the liquid material in the buffer apparatus is transported into a deposition machine for deposition. When the liquid material in the buffer apparatus is exhausted, the liquid material at the remote end is transported into the buffer apparatus by the carrier gas once again.
However, when the liquid material at the remote end is transported into the buffer apparatus, too many bubbles are often generated in the buffer apparatus since the liquid material is filled at a high flow rate into the buffer apparatus. These bubbles will be transported into the deposition machine along with the liquid material to cause a problem of non-uniform thin film deposition thickness, thereby influencing subsequent processes.
In order to solve the problem of non-uniform thin film deposition thickness resulted from the bubbles, an undercoat, a precoat, and a dummy deposition processes are generally performed before formally forming a required layer, so as to consume the liquid material having the bubbles. However, since the amount of the bubbles is excessively large, such a manner always wastes too much time and results in a low throughput, and the consumed liquid material will increase the production cost.